Bodegas Navarro, S.A.    

Climate and the soil

The soil is the fundamental factor in the quality of all wines, and especially in the fortified wines produced and matured in the Montilla-Moriles Denomination of Origin. From there the statutory historical classification to which we have referred when talking of areas.

Wine cultivators, from the beginning of time, have known which is the best land for obtaining unique, fine and delicate wines, and with a naturally high alcoholic strength. As will be seen later on, the fact that the emplacement of a great part of the vineyards in the south of the province of Cordoba, in very white rolling terrain, in those called ‘alberos’ or ‘albariza’ is not a whim.

In short, the ‘albarizas’ are soils rich in calcium carbonate (limestone), with soil and subsoil made up of soft marl, poor in natural organic matter, not very fertile, and with a simple mineral composition – practically lime and silica -, with a layered and lumpy structure, with a low proportion of chloride and sulphate and whose subsoil has a high humidity retaining capacity of around 30%.

Vines do not demand rich soil. On the contrary, they can live on marginal poor soils, always provided that they are deep. Its corkscrew type root even reaches more than four metres down, searching for water and nutrition, which allows it to survive in hot dry climates, where rain is scarce, and, in the summer, non-existent on occasions. Logically, for the root to be able to reach such a depth, the soil and subsoil have to be penetrateable. These should not be made up of hard rock, since the root would come up against a natural uncrossable barrier that would not let it continue down.

Additionally especially in the southern regions, in the summer, the period of greatest activity of the vine, the soil should be capable of retaining the greater part of the water from the rainy months of the year. In this way the root can obtain sufficient humidity for the plant, suffering very high temperatures, to be able to survive and give ideal ripe fruit. The first class ‘alberos’ are capable of retaining up to 33% of their weight in water. This humidity will be slowly released to the vine during the long, dry, hot cordovan summer, a long way away from the fresh sea-coast breezes.

But neither is it a good thing for the future quality of the wine for the vines lowest in the earth to be flooded. The root, which needs to breathe and eliminate toxins, acts negatively to an excess of humidity, including going to rot. For this reason it is advisable for them to be planted on a slope, facing south if at all possible. The slope allows the natural drainage of excess water, apart from increasing the longevity of the vineyard and improving the quality of the grapes. A correct orientation will additionally obtain the best ripeness of the fruit.

Thinking of ideal soils to obtain quality wines, especially the traditional cordovan finos, means locating land where the soil and subsoil are limey, in which, as from a depth of seventy centimetres, the calcium carbonate content be, at least, 40% and the deeper it gets, the higher the percentage, until reaching 50% or even more up to 60%. Another factor which has already been commented should not be forgotten: the slopes.
The soil of a more or less whitey colour is, as already explained, the best quality soil for vines. In second place, the soils of a slightly darker tone, covering the subsoil rich in limestone

It should not be forgotten that the second level rooting of the vine takes place at a depth of the first seventy centimetres, and that the quality of the fruit comes from the main root that, on occasions and as already mentioned, reaches a depth of more than four metres. After having read these paragraphs, the reader will find him/herself in any of the areas within the Montilla-Moriles area of production, especially those in the Sierra de Montilla, formed in the Cretaceous period, or in Moriles Altos, from the Oligocene period. It should be added that without exception, all the most famous wines in the world, are from terrains from one of these two geological periods.

Less appropriate for obtaining the best quality grapes, although very apt for the production of other types of wines, are the soils called Ruedos, which can be found from excellent albero soil to others quite frankly of clay. Currently investigation is under way to integrate these in the high quality albariza soils existing in the area and considered as Ruedos, in the Superior Quality areas of the Denomination of Origin.
Other soils with a high content of silica are to be found in the Montilla-Moriles area, in the municipalities of Montemayor and Puente Genil, in which the Pedro Ximenez varietal is cultivated. This material causes an intense light refraction which brings forward the ripening of the grape ahead of the rest of the area, providing must at the end of August, being rich in sugars of up to a level of 238 grams per litre. These grapes are normally partially dried in order to afterwards produce that singularly sweet wine called Pedro Ximénez

The quality difference of the must from one soil or another is appreciable right on finishing the harvest. After various years of maturing this difference is very notable. We repeat what we said before: our remote ancestors knew where to plant the vines to obtain very fine quality wines.
                                                           

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